From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov
Transcript for: GAO's E-Filing System - Filing a New Bid Protest
Description: Tutorial on GAO's E-Filing system for bid protests
Released: October 2024 (updating original video from January 2018)

[ Opening Screen ] Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) FILING A NEW BID PROTEST - GAO Logo

Welcome to the tutorial on filing a new bid protest in GAO's Electronic Protest Docketing System also known as EPDS.Before we get started, please keep in mind that EPDS performs best when accessing it using the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge. We do not recommend that you use Internet Explorer. So, let's get started.

After you log in to EPDS, you can start the process of filing a new bid protest by clicking the File New Protest tab in the Navigation Pane. A Warning message appears asking if you want to proceed to file a new protest. Read the Warning and then click Yes. 

The New Protest Information form appears. Complete all of the required fields on the form starting with the Company Name.

Next, in the Size Status section, click on the option that best describes the protester's size with respect to the procurement that is being protested. For guidance on how to determine the protester's size for the procurement, hover your mouse over the question mark. If you do not know the protester's size for the procurement at issue, select Large and then scroll down.

Next, complete the Company Address section. Scroll down again.

Then, in the Protest Detail section, type the Solicitation Number. This number can be found on the solicitation to which you are filing a protest. If you do not know the solicitation number, type unknown in both of the Solicitation Number fields. 

Now from the Agency Tier 1 drop-down menu, select the agency that issued the solicitation. This information can be found on the solicitation. If the agency you selected from the agency Tier 1 drop-down menu has secondary agencies, an agency Tier 2 field will appear.  If the agency you represent is secondary to the agency you selected in the Tier 1 drop-down menu, then select it from the agency tier 2 field.  

Next, you need to upload a protest document. Note that only PDF and Excel files can be attached. To upload a document, click the Add File button. The Open window appears. Locate and select the file you'd like to attach to the Protest Form. Then, click the Open button. The New Protest Information form reappears and the document you just uploaded displays in the Upload Protest Document section. Answer the question on the form that asks, "Do you want to Upload Associated Documents?" If you need to upload additional documents, click Yes and a new Add File button will appear allowing you to upload an additional document. If you do not need to upload additional documents, click No. Since we don't have any additional documents to upload, we'll click No.

Then, respond Yes or No to the question, "Do any of these documents contain information that is proprietary, confidential, or otherwise not releasable to the public?" For this example, we'll click Yes and scroll down to the bottom of the form. Use the comments box to enter any comments you'd like to include with your protest filing. Once the form is complete, click the Submit button. 

A Warning message appears to alert you that you will be directed to the Pay.gov site to pay the fee required to process your protest filing. Your protest filing will not be complete until you have paid the filing fee. Once you have made the payment, you will not be able to edit your filing. Please be aware that the filing fee will be reviewed every 2 years and is subject to change.

After you have read the Warning message, proceed to Pay.gov by clicking Yes.

You are directed to Pay.gov to pay the filing fee. Select the payment method you intend to use. For this example, we will select the option to pay with a debit or credit card and click the Continue button. Complete the form to process the payment method you selected. When you have completed the form, click the Continue button.  A summary of your payment information appears. Review your payment information and then click the checkbox next to the statement, "I authorize a charge to my card account for the above amount in accordance with my card issuer agreement."

Then click the Continue button. The Payment Success dialog box appears confirming that your payment to pay.gov has been received. You will also receive an email from EPDS confirming receipt of your filing fee payment. To close this dialog box, click OK.

Your newly filed protest will appear in the Active Cases Dashboard but does not yet have a B-Number assigned to it. EPDS will send an email to the procuring agency notifying them that you have filed a new protest and will also send you a courtesy copy of that email.

GAO will assign an attorney to the protest and will prepare a case acknowledgement package that includes the B-Number assigned to it. Once GAO makes the acknowledgement package available to you on the Dashboard, you will receive an email notification letting you know you can access it.

This concludes the tutorial on Filing a New Bid Protest.

To learn more about using EPDS, go to the GAO.gov web page and check out the other tutorials we've created for you.